Recuse

The tumultuous ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters, one of Los Angeles' most enduring politicians, took another strange turn Friday as six members of the House Ethics Committee recused themselves from considering the charges against her. Committee Chairman Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) said that all five of the panel's Republicans, including himself, and one Democrat were taking the unusual action of recusing themselves from further involvement in the long-running Waters case "out of an abundance of caution and to avoid even an appearance of unfairness.

WASHINGTON - Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday strongly defended the criminal investigation into the leak of classified details about a successful U.S. undercover operation, calling it "within the top two or three most serious leaks" of government-protected information since he became a federal prosecutor more than 35 years ago. The attorney general said he had recused himself earlier from overseeing the investigation into who told the...

When the Los Angeles City Council took up a lucrative airport contract earlier this week, Councilman Dennis Zine quietly stepped out of the room, saying he was doing so out of an "abundance of caution. " The reason for his recusal? A girlfriend of Zine's was a lobbyist for a company challenging the winning bid. Socializing between elected officials and lobbyists is nothing new at City Hall; Councilwoman Janice Hahn takes vacations with one. But while Zine took pains to publicly distance himself on the airport contract, he had not been nearly as circumspect when dealing with other votes on clients of Veronica Becerra, a lobbyist and land-use consultant.

WASHINGTON - Attorney Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. recused himself from the leak investigation in which federal prosecutors seized records from 20 telephone lines used by reporters and editors at the Associated Press, and the matter is instead being coordinated by the FBI and the local U.S. attorney's office in Washington, a top Justice Department official said. In his absence, the investigation is being supervised by Deputy Atty. Gen. James Cole, “who has served as the acting attorney general overseeing this investigation,” the official said.

For months there have been repeated calls from Supreme Court watchers for Justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan to recuse themselves from the healthcare litigation to be argued before the court in March. The controversy heightened in December when Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in his year-end report, argued that not only should Supreme Court justices decide recusal issues solely for themselves, but that some ethical rules that apply to all other federal judges should not bind the justices.

Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine says he will recuse himself from voting on a controversial, $271-million airport contract to avoid "any appearance of impropriety" regarding his romantic relationship with a lobbyist who works for one of the companies that sought the contract. Zine said Thursday that he sees no conflict of interest regarding his relationship with Veronica Becerra, who works for Tutor Perini Corp., which tried without success to secure the contract to build the Central Utility Plant at Los Angeles International Airport.

Re "GOP Lawmakers Ask Ginsburg to Withdraw from Abortion Cases," March 19: If Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's affiliation with the National Organization for Women means she must recuse herself in all abortion cases, then so should all the now and future Catholic justices. Gail Runk Manhattan Beach

Justice appointee: An article in Thursday's Section A about Mark Gitenstein, reporting that he is the lead candidate to head the Justice Department office that oversees legal policy and judicial nominations, said his nomination would require a waiver from the Obama administration's ethics rules. The article should have said that it might require a waiver. As the article later stated, a Justice Department official said Gitenstein would recuse himself from issues that could pose a conflict due to his former lobbying, which the official maintains would make a blanket waiver unnecessary.

April 8, 2009 | David B. Rivkin Jr., David B. Rivkin Jr. is a partner at Baker & Hostetler and served in the Justice Department and the White House counsel's office in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

When Brent Benjamin ran for chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court in 2004, the nation's fourth-largest coal company donated $3 million to his successful campaign -- more than all his other contributors combined. Two years later, the company, Massey Energy, came before Benjamin's court to appeal a $50-million judgment it had been ordered to pay. Benjamin cast the deciding vote in a 3-2 decision to overturn the award. Now the U.S.

The judge in the George Zimmerman case recused herself on Wednesday after the defense sought to have her disqualified because her husband worked with a CNN legal affairs analyst who was approached by the defendant to represent him. Seminole Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler, the Florida judge assigned to the highly publicized case, announced that she had decided to leave because “the cumulative effect of the events and the totality of the...

The tumultuous ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters, one of Los Angeles' most enduring politicians, took another strange turn Friday as six members of the House Ethics Committee recused themselves from considering the charges against her. Committee Chairman Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) said that all five of the panel's Republicans, including himself, and one Democrat were taking the unusual action of recusing themselves from further involvement in the long-running Waters case "out of an abundance of caution and to avoid even an appearance of unfairness.

For months there have been repeated calls from Supreme Court watchers for Justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan to recuse themselves from the healthcare litigation to be argued before the court in March. The controversy heightened in December when Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in his year-end report, argued that not only should Supreme Court justices decide recusal issues solely for themselves, but that some ethical rules that apply to all other federal judges should not bind the justices.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has addressed complaints that a member of the Supreme Court has the last word when it comes to deciding whether to participate in cases in which his impartiality is questioned. Roberts' response: Things are fine as they are. In his end-of-the-year report on the federal judiciary, Roberts insists that the justices abide by the Code of Judicial Conduct, which requires judges to be impartial, even though it doesn't formally apply to the Supreme Court.

Appearing in a military courtroom Friday for the first time, accused WikiLeaks source Army Pfc. Bradley Manning said he understood the charges against him in a criminal case that involves one of the largest leaks of classified material in U.S. history. The pretrial proceeding got bogged down in legal maneuvering when Manning's civilian lawyer, David Coombs, argued that the presiding military officer could not be impartial because he is also a federal prosecutor. Coombs said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Paul Almanza should step aside because he is the deputy chief prosecutor of the child exploitation and obscenity section of the criminal division of the Department of Justice.

In another jab at the federal judge who ruled against Proposition 8, sponsors of the gay marriage initiative asked a district court Monday to set aside the ruling on the grounds the judge was in a long-term same-sex relationship that posed a conflict of interest. Attorneys for ProtectMarriage, the group that sponsored the 2008 ballot initiative, said in a legal motion that Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who retired from the San Francisco-based district court earlier this year, had a duty to disclose his relationship and step down before deciding whether a ban on same-sex marriage violated the federal Constitution.

I'm taking up a collection so that NBC, ABC and all the cable networks can hire Brian Lowry's wife as a consultant ("Handling Conflict: Well, Recuuuse Me," April 4). Given his feelings about conflict of interest, we readers will ultimately benefit by not having to endure any more of Lowry's insufferably obnoxious "On TV" columns. JOHN AMATO Sherman Oaks

Two legal experts said Saturday that a Seminole County judge should withdraw from hearing a lawsuit challenging 17,000 absentee ballots key to deciding the presidential election in Florida. At issue are revelations that a worker for Circuit Judge Debra Nelson's election campaign this summer had entered voter identification numbers on absentee ballot applications that the campaign sent to individual voters.

A federal judge from San Diego with extensive experience handling major felony cases will preside over the trial of Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner, court officials announced Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns was assigned to Loughner's federal case stemming from Saturday's attack that killed six people, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, and wounded 13, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Loughner faces two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder of federal employees.

When the Los Angeles City Council took up a lucrative airport contract earlier this week, Councilman Dennis Zine quietly stepped out of the room, saying he was doing so out of an "abundance of caution. " The reason for his recusal? A girlfriend of Zine's was a lobbyist for a company challenging the winning bid. Socializing between elected officials and lobbyists is nothing new at City Hall; Councilwoman Janice Hahn takes vacations with one. But while Zine took pains to publicly distance himself on the airport contract, he had not been nearly as circumspect when dealing with other votes on clients of Veronica Becerra, a lobbyist and land-use consultant.